From Buzzcut to Beautiful Locks!

Tomorrow marks the 8th month since God called me to grow my hair out for Locks of Love. I went from having a shaved head to long flowing locks!! It has been a process and an interesting journey so far and it has been a great conversation starter, especially when people tell me I need to get my hair cut! :) It's also funny to hear people call me Samson because of my hair and the fact I'm a cheerleader! :P haha it's funny to me :) More recently I have been thinking that Locks of Love is not really Love anymore.
Locks of Love now makes people pay for the wigs instead of giving them to the people in need... How does that really demonstrate Love? I have recently decided to donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They give the wigs, for FREE, to the American Cancer Society. Here is a section from the Pantene website,

"As Pantene Beautiful Lengths wigs are created, they are distributed for free through select American Cancer Society wig banks across the country. Women facing cancer can find out about the availability of a Pantene Beautiful Lengths wig by calling the American Cancer Society at 1-877-227-1596. The Society can also help callers with a number of resources providing educational and emotional support."

This is something that I know that God is calling me to do because of some of the people in my life that lost their hair to Cancer and Chemotherapy treatment. I have a few Mentors, Heroines and Amazing kids in my life that have all had this happen and I love them all, this is what I am called to do out of love! My hair is normally short, if I have any at all, and God has blessed me with Beautiful Red hair and I feel like this is just something small that I can do to help someone out there experience Christ's Love and receive confidence with my hair! :)

If you feel like this is something that you would like to or feel is something God is calling you to do, I challenge you to pray about it and you can even talk to me about it! :) Be a blessing to someone and show them the Love of Christ by growing your hair! :) God Bless you and remember that Every Hair has a purpose in life! :)

-Carter Bob

God = Love

-1 Corinthians 13-

LOVE

"¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

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For so long I have been living life as if I truly knew what "Love" was... Boy was I wrong! God has recently opened my eyes up to what TRUE Love is! It all started with Cheerleading. Last week I was preparing devotions for the team and I was so confused on what God was wanting me to do them on, but then God gave it to me! 1 Corinthians 13, is what God gave me, the well known passage about Love. We went through the passage before the game that night and little did I know that our team Bible study, after the game, would be about the same passage.

After the game we went through the same passage on a different level than I brought for devotionals. We hit the verses 5-8 hard, with emphasis on the beginning of verse 8.

^"5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."

We talked about how God is Love and how God never fails us, in the team Bible study. And the saying Love never fails kept burning its way into my brain! Love never fails! Love never fails! Love never fails! It made me think of times when I thought that Love failed. This made me think of failure too. So I had two thoughts running through my head. Let's hit the first one when Love failed.

• Love failed... I bet we can all think of a time when we feel like Love has failed us. But what does that even mean? How can Love fail if it is just an emotion? Well let's get down to the root of. There are 14 definitions for Love under the contexts of a noun, and 6 as a verb. For this we will use the second definition of Love, as a noun, " a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend." So how can a "feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection for a 'being'" fail? Think about it... can a feeling fail? No. The actions that are motivated by the feeling can fail, but the actual feeling itself can not fail. So how can we say that Love has failed us? In this we have to look at failure.

• Failure is a noun that is defined in 7 ways. The one we will use is, "an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success." In today if we are afraid of failing because we do not want to be look down upon for messing up or not succeeding. Why are we so afraid of failure? Self-image? Monetary gain?

The way that God hit me with this whole thing first was with 1 John 4:18, one of my favorite verses that applies to this. It says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made in perfect love." Perfect love drives out fear. If God is Perfect Love, then we should have no fear... and if we have no fear of failure all we have is love and that is all we need, love. Because, again, Love = God. God Blew my mind to pieces in how to Love Him. This is just part of the story though; the next part takes place at the Winter Retreat.


When I was going through my Time Alone With God this weekend at The Effect Winter Retreat, I was reading a book called Soul Cravings. In the 3rd entry, it says this, "When you give up on Love, everything else seems to go with it- joy, hope, forgiveness, compassion- they're all interconnected." Joy, hope, forgiveness, and compassion are all characteristics of God. So I took this as, if we don't have Love, we don't God. (Also 1 John 4:8 says that whoever doesn't know God, doesn't know love.) But perfect Love is God, so our love is for the one who created love, God. (Sorry if I confused you with that!) Also in Soul Cravings, it says, "It's as if we've been purposefully designed with a factory defect that keeps us searching... for love." This concept blew my mind!!! God created us with a purposeful defect that has us searching for love, but not any love, God's love. We have been created to seek Him and to seek love in and through Him! It's so simple, but yet so complex! And I couldn't be more happy to have a defect!! :)


So God has shown me what TRUE love is! It is something more than just a feeling, something more than just a word, and something that is conveyed between two people who are married. God is love, and when we love others, we are showing them God. But when God isn't in the picture and the word love is being used, that is a distorted view of love. When it is said between two people and God isn't the focus, it is just infatuation, so it is fake love. When a person says that they are loving their neighbor, but is mean to them and hurts them. That is fake love too. So the true meaning of Love is God. And now that I know this, I can better know how to love those around me and deepen the love for my family and friends.

This was my view of Love before God transformed my view of Love from:
Disillusion of Love


to...

This, my
Clear View of Love.

God has been moving through me and teaching me a new way to love and what TRUE love is and I am excited to see what God has in store for me next in my walk with Him! :) God Bless you all and I will post y'all later! ByeBye!

-Carter Bob

Design Oriented Life [never posted orginally posted 1/26/10]

I have issues...

Okay, *sarcastic* ha ha, I know I have lots of issues, but this seems to be a reoccurring one.

My issue is excessive designs and creative ideas rushing through my Cerebral Cortex like the Nile River. Last semester alone we rearranged our dorm room more than three times... Some were to increase the space, others were just because I had an idea and wanted to see what it actually looked like... it has started this semester as well. We rearranged our room last night/ early this morning from 1 A.M. to 4 A.M. Yeah I know, it took a long time, but the sad part is that we changed it after moving it once to a different way. There are times when I have projects, papers, assignments due or a test the next day but all I can think of are design layouts, architecture, art, sweet logo designs for things, or multiple other things. I know this may be a problem to others or an inconvenience to others, but I welcome the thought of the creativity that God has blessed me with! I think I would be devastated if God did not give me these ideas and designs... I love the way that God works in and through people and I can only hope that someday that my talents that God has given me will help further the Kingdom!

Because of my love for architecture... I may end up, someday, getting a degree in architecture or design because that is something that I am passionate about and I have always thought it would be awesome to design a church!

Friends Till The End... A Tale of Two Friends

So it was approximately 17 years ago that I met this awesome Red Power Ranger on Halloween named Austin Hostetter. We lived but a block away from each other and our mothers thought it would be nice if their boys would become friends, not aware of what God's Hand had in the picture.

So Austin was only a few months older than I was and he went to pre-school a year early... but went again when I did, to North Main Pre-School! :) Mrs. Yoder #1 and Mrs. Yoder #2 woot! :)

We would call each other up asking if the other would wanna come over and play everyday! :) we were inseparable! Austin played soccer in the summer as well as baseball and for some years Austin and I were on the same baseball teams! Those were the days! :D

Elementary school came along... we didn't really play together at recess but once school was over it was just like summer! We would beak out the Castle Men or Action Figures, Watch Cartoon Network, Play Zombies ate my Neighbours [when Austin's brother Andy wasn't in his room haha] Booger man was always epic, and not to mention the all-time besties Driver 1&2 and Batman and Robin for PlayStation... we could never beat Freeze... he always beat us to this day! ugh oh well :P

Austin went to Nappanee Missionary Church and I attended the First Brethren Church in Nappanee. I lived with my amazing Mother and my very admirable Grandmother. [sorry to back track there but it was necessary] I was a believer and considered myself like most kids a Christian... I memorized the books of the Bible and some Bible verses as well as attended on Sundays and Wednesdays... but it was mostly because my Mom made me...

Once my Grandmother got older, my mom and I couldn't take care of her any more so we put her in a nursing home...

My mom and I stopped going to Church after that because we spent almost all of our time at the nursing home... Austin and I still hung out... he would either come to the nursing home with us or I'd stay with him and his family... :)

A few years later my Grandma died... this hit me harder than a 20 ton Mac Truck!!! I totally gave up on God... questioned who I was, why we have to be here, why He had to take my Grandma, and what my purpose was... so I started to fade away from the good kid-ness... I started hanging out with the wrong crowd and listening to not so good music and I also picked up a bad habit... swearing...

Although my Grandma died and I chose to be rebellious during that time my Best friend stood by me! As I look back on it I am eternally grateful that he did!!!! This was all happening before Middle School!

Austin and I were different than each other... but yet alot alike! I played football and basketball, and was in band... where as Austin played tennis and made movies... in those activities we had made other friends besides each other... but we always put aside our differences to hang out with each other!

{ haha ok so this was in elementary school but this was something that I remember and will never for get and I wanna tell you guys... so Austin and I were walking home from school with our drum kits from band, thats right band haha :) , and this kid was kicking Austin's drum kit and I told the kid to stop and he didn't... so, in front of my house a block away from school, the kid gets off his bike, and acts as if he wanted to fight... me being a huge kid just pushed him and he fell over his bike and began to cry, I was like I told you to stop kicking it! and we went home told his mom and then I got into trouble at SCHOOL, even though this was in front of my house, and they told me that they put that on my permanent record. haha I just thought that it was a funny story :P I can still envision the whole thing :P }

Alot went on in those next few years that shaped who I became and who I now have change from... Then in 7th grade Austin asked me and Dan if we wanted to go with him to Church on Wednesday nights... I figured eh... why not lots of people from school go there and I might be considered cool if I go there... Boy did something happen!

Austin asked me and Dan to come over after school... we would play kick the can, greatest game, or play games and other stuff... as well as eat supper... like Austin said in his blog Pizza Burgers were one of the meals and I remember exactly how they taste! :D

It all started at the "Hey, Hey, Hey! It's a Hay Ride!" They talked about something that I had heard preached and talked about literally hundreds of times but something was different this time... something clicked... The speaker was talking about how God, sent His ONLY SON into the world to save it, not to condemn it! And that He Loves us no matter what has happened to you in your life and that He will always love us! I was like Woh...

I went home that night different, changed... not a born again Christian... but different non the less...

Over the next few months I started to go to small groups... and then one Wednesday night our small group leader James Ellis asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into our lives and me and another guy did... so we went into the airlock in the YMC lower level and prayed... I gave my life back to God that night in 7th grade! :)

Fast forward to High School, Austin and I were going to church and small groups together and even working together! We were still the Best of friends!!!! Of course we would fight and argue alot but that never truly changed how we felt towards each other... Brotherly love... seeing how I didn't have any brothers or sisters at home he was the closest thing I had to a brother...

We would be each others accountability partners and we would bounce ideas off each other for tons of things... one day when we were setting up in the Aux Gym for a Wednesday night... Derry Prenkert came up to us and asked if we wanted to go on a trip called NYGO... Austin and I were interested to go! but I was the one who went... Austin had something that proceeded NYGO so I went... and that, is where my life path was forever changed!!!!

I type this now and you know I am going to be a Pastor after college... but that wasn't my first intention... before NYGO I was going to be an Architect and I wanted to move to Chicago and start a firm designing large and small buildings... but God had some plans of His own... :)

So God really really grabbed a hold of my life on NYGO... from doing many things like witnessing to the people, praying for random people, and just the difference in the Culture from small town Nappanee... That rocked my world!!! I was hit by a Spiritual Train as I like to call it when I was Cussed out and God was cussed out by a guy... this changed my perspective and my views... God also instilled in me what HIS plans for me were... to be a Pastor...

So when I came back from that it wasn't long before Summer Camp! And boy oh boy God moved in a HUGE WAY!!!!!! :D so summer camp came along... it was ONE summer camp, that's what the series was called... ONE
We talked alot and there was an image that I can remember vividly... that is me, 6'2" 225lb guy sobbing with tons of tears thanking Austin for what he had done for me! because if it wasn't for him... I most likely would not be sitting here typing this now!!! but then he started crying saying that I had been challenging him by the way I was living... with no fear and in extreme ways for God... so here are two best friends... 17 years old crying in each others arms as we embraced and talked about how we were sorry about how we were jerks at some points and times...

We had set up times together to go to the prayer room, back home, late at night... there were like 4 times we signed up for together... and the coolest thing was we heard about baptisms...

So Austin and I talked to Derry about getting Baptised... and Derry mentioned us getting Baptised together... and we thought it would only be fitting considering the impacts we have and had left on each other... so we signed up for that!

When we got back from camp Hoss and I were closer than ever! and when we went to the prayer room one night... GOD grew us even closer... we both were feeling convictions to talk to the other one about our struggles... and when we finally did... we found out they were the same and that we both wanted to talk to the other about them... we washed our hands of them and then kept each other accountable... and we grew closer than friends, closer than brothers, we were brothers in Christ! :)

We got Baptised on August 26, 2007 together and we can both remember that day for the rest of our lives! :) Because that marks our story and our faith Publicly! :)

Our Junior Year was Great!! God was moving and Moving and helping us Challenge each other and we were basically inseparable! :) Senior year summer camp was amazing! we were playing big roles in the camp in one way shape or form...

I had the opportunity to go on IMPACT Mexico since I went on NYGO but things were not the way that God had it all planned for me that summer so I did Children's summer camp counselor for the second year... while Austin went on DCGO... which was awesome!!!

Two words to sum up our Junior year/ Senior year summer camp... God Moved


So we go to our Senior year of High school... we are leaders on and off the athletic, academic and not to mention in the youth group... we were apart of a bible study/ prayer meeting on Monday mornings with some other Seniors and Derry... and Austin and I came behind alot of projects like making movies for messages and not to mention Rwanda Night, which if you read my blog, captured my heart. Austin and I did alot together our Senior year at school, home, church and at other locations! :)

The summer after our Senior year is the season we are in now...

Austin and I got the opportunity to Go on IMPACT Dominican Republic and boy did we See God MOVE!!!!! :D He moved in us by our selves, together, in the country, our team, and in the people! and I couldn't have imagined a more awesome way to cap off our High School Career together than to go on a missions trip together not to mention stay in the same room and, whether he admits it or not, enjoyed the closeness of the nights haha and the gas :P MARCO!

Austin and I went to Preteen Summer Camp this last week... for two different reasons... He for tech and me as a leader... but we were united one night when Jason talked about our story and its significance...

now that I think about it... our story is amazing... how one shy boy named Austin Hostetter, asked his Spiritually Struggling friend to come to church with him... not to get me saved... but just so that we could enjoy God together... and over the next 3 years God moves in me and Austin see that and wants to have the growth too... and then the next 2 years of pure joy and happiness that we have in each other and most of all GOD!!!

God Truly moves in His own ways... in His own timing... with His own LOVE! and I can honestly say that if it wasn't for our mothers almost 17 years ago to say lets get our boys together to play... and if it wasn't for God's AWESOME timing moving Austin in to ask me at the right time... I wouldn't be here, and if it wasn't for God our friendship wouldn't be what it is! Because I have found more than a friend in Austin Blake Hostetter, I have found an accountability partner, a person to look up to, a buddy to challenge me and for me to challenge, but most of all a Brother, truly like no other! One where the Blood line starts with A man named Jesus Christ!! A Brother that I know, will always be there for me... Through Thick and Thin, through the good and bad, the happy and sad, easy and tough... and some one who will always be there to say... I Love you Bro! :)

Austin has been by best friend, is my best friend, and will always be my best friend!!! Although we are the Odd Couple, and could be compared to the Grumpy Old Men, our friendship will never be broken because of where our bonds start... with God! Although Austin is going to Ball State this fall and I will be at Indiana Wesleyan we will still hang out, we will still be friends and we will still be there for each other! I'm nearly Crying typing this because of what all we have gone through together and just how awesome it is to have Hoss as a friend! :)

I want to thank Austin for being there for me, but most of all... I want to thank God. For Blessing me with an amazing Best friend like him who doesn't care what I look like or how weird I am! Thanks God for being Awesome! :)

Thanks Austin !

Today

Today was a great day spiritually for me :) i started the day off by going to church and going to Keith and Rhonda's Sunday School class which is great people! :D and we talked about Abraham and Isaac and how Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his only son... and he was being obedient... he took his son up the mountain and then tied him to offer him as a burnt sacrifice but then an angel came and spoke saying that because he was obedient God would provide an animal to sacrifice and so they sacrificed a ram... this was a very powerful message in itself about obedience and trusting and relying on God!

Then Pastor Derry Prenkert continued the Uncharted Territory unit we are going through and this message was a big one for me! Derry talked about Preparation and Perspective. When he was talking about Preparation he asked a question... "What is He preparing me for?" and that was a big one... and when he talked about Perspective he asked another question and that one was.. "Will I seek His perspective?" and I sat and thought to myself... will I truly do that or will I just say I will... made me think!

Then when we responded in worship I felt, what I feel was the Holy Spirit, come into my body making me a little chilled and tingly... then I heard a still small voice say "Fast for a week before Rwanda" ... what does this mean I asked myself... This seemed huge to me because the longest I have ever fasted was a day... so this seemed almost insurmountable... I said ok but then i started thinking... wait, before Rwanda Night or before the missions trip to Rwanda... because Rwanda Night is on Feb. 18 and the trip is about the same time that I will be in Mexico for IMPACT... so I talked to Pastor Terry and we talked about it for awhile and he prayed for me... then I felt like I still needed to talk to Derry since his message today helped bring upon this burden... so I went and found him and he told me that we could talk after Hotel Rwanda tonight... so I went home

When I got home I had lunch and then I went and researched fasting for awhile and decided I should work on my Physics machine... then I worked on that for awhile until it was time for small groups...

For small groups we all, 11th and 12th grade small groups, went to the church and watched Hotel Rwanda... which is an incredibly moving, powerful, gut wrenching, insane, and great movie ( i will give it a review tomorrow on my movie page) ... this movie almost brought me to tears... if i would have been at home i would have cried... but it also got me thinking... and further increased the burden for the Country of Rwanda!! After the movie was over we got together with our small groups and talked about it and about Rwanda night... crazy stuff can happen!!! I'm excited!!!!! :D

After our small groups meeting I talked with Derry for awhile about fasting and Rwanda... Derry just has something about him that i just wanna strive to achieve someday and that is his passion to be a great Youth Pastor, Teacher, Student, Dad, and Servant of God!!! I admire Derry! But we talked and he is going to get me some stuff to read on fasting so I cant wait to read that... even though i hate to read :P but then he prayed for me and I went home...

on my way home I had the lyrics to the Lifehouse song Everything and they go like this...
"And how can I stand here with you And not be moved by you Would you tell me how could it be Any better than this" those words just were stuck in my head on the way home so I came home and listen to that song and worked on my homework for awhile... then I got on here and am blogging this now :P

so yeah today was a very moving day for me... as well as a thinking day... it has forced me to think alot more than I do on a normal day... but I like when I have those days!!! well I still have to post the Rwanda Fact of the day and do my TAWG and its starting to get late... I have bible study or prayer group in the morning and I think we might do what we did last year for Kenya night and with whatever we buy... we put that much money into a pot for, what is now, Rwanda Night! I think its a great idea! well I should get going... but until next time... ByeBye and God Bless!!!!!! :)

-Carter Bob

Today

So today was a normal day again :P haha not to exciting but after my hour and a half of studying last night i felt really confident for the test and i knew every answer... i hope :P haha but it was really easy!! :D first time i have been able to say that about physics!!! :D yay :) but then i went and worked out after school and then came home showered, ate some chili and 2 hotdogs, went to church... where i really enjoy this new section that we are going through! it is really expansive and i enjoy it because it is helping me become stronger in my values and in my faith!! Derry is now one of my heros!! i have always liked him as a pastor and a person but tonight i relized how truely WISE he really is! he is a man who can help you through the tough times and he can be excited with you through the great times too! :D he is just an all around great man of God and i am happy to be able to call him my youth pastor and also a friend! :) God has blessed me with many people like Derry in my life and i am forever greatful!!! God is AWESOME like that :D well we talked about entertainment tonight and how the different types of entertainment affect the youth and people of the world... how it can be interperated... and what the Word says about entertainment... and i feel alot better and feel like i can make more mature and educated decisions about the entertainment industry, movies, music, ect. But i feel great and think that this section can help not only me but others too!!!! ;) well my time is quickly running out!!! 3 days and soon to be 3 hours!!! :) this is hard but it is helping!! :) well i have my rwanda post and then possibly another :P well until next time ByeBye and God Bless!!!!!! :D

-Carter Bob